Selecting a new CEO is among the most delicate decisions a board of directors will ever face. The selection process is exposed to many unknowns. The education of a candidate may be one of the few pieces of information that is certain. To provide guidance to corporate boards on the validity of that indicator, this report analyzes data on the education of 1,800 individuals who served as CEOs of Standard & Poor’s Composite 1500 companies to determine the effect of education on CEO turnover and firm performance.